Jochen Rindt: 40 years on
September 5 marks 40 years since the death of Formula 1's only posthumous world champion, Jochen Rindt.
His death during qualifying for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix at Monza still holds firm in the minds of those race fans who were around to experience the aftermath. Rather like the passing of Gilles Villeneuve 12 years later, his accident left people wondering what might have been had he lived to continue his career.
Karl Jochen Rindt, born on April 18, 1942 in Mainz, German, was just a year old when his parents were killed in an allied bombing raid on the city. Sent to live with his wealthy grandparents in Austria, he had a privileged upbringing, and was even sent to Britain to study during his teenage years.
It was here, or at Goodwood in particular, where he first saw racing cars in action. He was hooked and began racing at the age of 20 in 1962 in saloons, dovetailing it with his nine-to-five job at the family spice mill.
Formula 2 was where he really made his mark, his pace being noticed during a Formula Junior campaign in '63 and attracting Ford of Austria backing for the following season.
He won races all over Europe in the two-litre machines, a victory at Crystal Palace's London Cup, in particular, resulting in an offer to join Bruce McLaren's team for the following season.
The establishment of the European F2 Championship in 1967 gave him further opportunities to prove his talent. He won the inaugural championship round at Snetterton that April and amassed 12 wins, 10 poles and 11 fastest laps from his 19 starts. That made him the most successful driver in championship history - a record that stands today.
While Rindt will always be acknowledged as the King of F2, he was never a European champion. This is because as an established F1 driver by now, he carried 'A' grading and was never eligible for points as he battled fellow 'A' drivers like Jim Clark, Graham Hill and John Surtees for wins all over Europe.
No such regulations existed in the national championships though and he took British and French F2 crowns in 1967 and even won races as far afield as Brazil and Argentina (pictured).
All of his F2 success was woven around his burgeoning F1 career, which began with his World Championship debut on home soil at Zeltweg in 1964 in a Rob Walker-run Brabham BT11.
His first full season came in '65 with Cooper, but was a frustrating one as the Climax-engined T77 found itself hideously outclassed by the latest offerings from Lotus and Ferrari.
He still managed to claim his first points finish with fourth place in Germany and added an Austrian Grand Prix victory (held for sportscars) and success at the Le Mans 24 Hours - both wins coming in Ferrari 250LM machinery.
A better F1 season in '66, in no small part due to a more competitive Maserati engine in the back of his Cooper, brought him a maiden podium finish in Belgium.
But Rindt, often over-driving to make up for the deficiencies of his machinery, was gaining a reputation as a fearless driver who was permanently on edge. It was not until 1969, and a move to the world champion Lotus squad, that he became a regular winner in the big league.
Two wins in the Tasman Series early in the year were a good start, and he then collected his maiden World Championship victory at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.
Perhaps the iconic image of that season was of Rindt and his great friend and rival Jackie Stewart battling for the lead at Silverstone. That race could, perhaps, have given him victory, but a broken rear wing support began to cut into a tyre, causing a puncture that would set him back.
Interestingly, it was only when the wing revolution hit F1 in '69, and Rindt was presented with a car with grip levels more in line with its power output - much more like an F2 car, in fact, that he became an outright frontrunner.
The 1970 season was one in which Rindt, still only 28 years old, reached his zenith.
He finished only five races that season, but won all of them, including a last-gasp victory at Monaco when long-time leader Jack Brabham crashed at the last corner.
Leading the championship by a huge margin, fate was to play its cruel hand during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Rindt losing his life in a crash at the Parabolica.
It was fitting that, in spite of the tragedy, nobody was able to overhaul Rindt's score. He had been the top driver of 1970 and history will rightly record him as such.
History, in fact, shows up some remarkable statistics from Rindt's F1 career. Of the 60 World Championship grands prix he started, he crashed out of only four of them, yet retired 33 times as a result of mechanical failure.
While that is not what might be expected of a man renowned for looking out of control even when going in a straight line, his aggressive driving style and lack of mechanical sympathy - in stark contrast to Stewart - probably contributed to a large number of these.
Rindt's career statistics are offset by the level of the machinery he had at his disposal. He won six of the 60 races he started (six out of 19 with Lotus), started from pole position 10 times and made it onto the front row on 18 occasions.
With Lotus continuing its domination over the next couple of years, it's interesting to think that Rindt could have been a double, or even a triple world champion. We'll just never know.
